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Molecular Detection of Leishmania (L.) mexicana (Kinetoplastida: Trypanostomatidae) DNA in Culicoides furens (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from an Area with Autochthonous Canine Leishmaniasis in Northwestern Mexico

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Abstract

Purpose

Mexico is considered endemic for Leishmania; recent reports indicate autochthonous human and canine leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania mexicana in Sinaloa state. Lutzomyia sand fly are the primary vector of the parasite, although no records of phlebotomine vectors of Leishmania exist from Sinaloa. Other hematophagous dipterans, like Culicoides, could represent possible vectors of Leishmania in absence of phlebotomines. The known distribution of Culicoides includes the southern portion of Sinaloa state, in northwestern Mexico, with records of Culicoides furens. However, no studies have demonstrated the presence of Leishmania in C. furens or its possible participation in the parasite’s life cycle in Mexico. This study, therefore, sought to detect DNA of Leishmania in C. furens captured in an endemic area of autochthonous canine leishmaniasis in northwestern Mexico.

Methods

Culicoides were captured with CDC light traps, identified morphologically, and organized in pools. DNA was extracted, and used to amplify the ribosomal ITS1 region of Leishmania. PCR products were digested with HaeIII endonuclease; the banding patterns obtained were compared to reference strains.

Results

Leishmania mexicana DNA was detected in five out of nine pools (55%) of female C. furens.

Conclusion

This study offers the first evidence of L. mexicana DNA in C. furens, in an endemic area of canine leishmaniasis in northwestern Mexico, where no evidence exists of the presence of phlebotomine sand fly.

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Acknowledgements

We thank PhD Andrew Townsend Peterson, professor from department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology of the University of Kansas, for critical review of the usage of English language in the manuscript.

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Author notes

  1. Juan José Ríos-Tostado and Hipólito Castillo-Ureta contributed equally to this manuscript.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Doctorado en Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa, Av. de Las Américas Y Blvd. Universitarios S/N, Culiacán, Sinaloa, 80013, México

    Juan José Ríos-Tostado, Hipólito Castillo-Ureta, Edith Hilario Torres-Montoya, José Israel Torres-Avendaño & Vicente Olimón-Andalón

  2. Facultad de Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa, Av. de Las Américas Y Blvd. Universitarios S/N, Culiacán, Sinaloa, 80013, México

    Juan José Ríos-Tostado, Hipólito Castillo-Ureta, Edith Hilario Torres-Montoya, José Israel Torres-Avendaño, Vicente Olimón-Andalón, César Enrique Romero-Higareda & José Marcial Zazueta-Moreno

  3. Maestría en Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa, Av. de Las Américas Y Blvd. Universitarios S/N, Culiacán, Sinaloa, 80013, México

    Hipólito Castillo-Ureta, Edith Hilario Torres-Montoya, Vicente Olimón-Andalón & César Enrique Romero-Higareda

  4. Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria Y Zootecnia, Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa, Blvd. San Ángel 3886, Mercado de Abastos, San Benito, Culiacán, Sinaloa, 80260, México

    Gabriela Silva-Hidalgo

Authors
  1. Juan José Ríos-Tostado
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  2. Hipólito Castillo-Ureta
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  3. Edith Hilario Torres-Montoya
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  7. Gabriela Silva-Hidalgo
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  8. José Marcial Zazueta-Moreno
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Writing-Original draft preparation [JJR-T], Methodology [HC-U], [JIT-A] and [GS-H], Project administration and supervision [EHT-M], [VO-A], Conceptualization [CER-H], Writing-Review, Editing and supervision [JMZ-M].

Corresponding author

Correspondence to José Marcial Zazueta-Moreno.

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Ríos-Tostado, J.J., Castillo-Ureta, H., Torres-Montoya, E.H. et al. Molecular Detection of Leishmania (L.) mexicana (Kinetoplastida: Trypanostomatidae) DNA in Culicoides furens (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from an Area with Autochthonous Canine Leishmaniasis in Northwestern Mexico. Acta Parasit. 66, 1055–1058 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11686-021-00335-1

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